Welding electrode



Patented Apr. 28, 1925. i i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GILBERT E. noun-or cLEvsLAnn, omo, ASSIGNOR TO RAIL WELDING AND BOND- ING COMPANY, or CLEVELAND, 01110, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

I WELDING ELECTRODE.

no Drawing. Application filed liovember 12, 1921. Serial N'o. 514,693.

To a l? whom it may concern: which is characterized as being sufliciently Be it known that I, GILBERT E. DOAN, ductile and strong to prevent easy breakage a citizen of the United States, and a resident in handling, substantially unaffected and unof Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, State of oxidized by the arc and having a boiling Ohio, have invented certain new and useful oint considerably lower than that of car- 6 Improvements in Welding Electrodes, of on. which the following is a specification. v An important advantage incident to the This invention relates to electric welding use of electrodes having such properties is and. in particular is concerned with electhat th ld seam t l j f d b 10 trodes of novel composition. and propertiesrelativelycool arc and is thus less liable to 65 One object of my invention is .to provide be overheated or otherwise injured. Elecan electrode for electric welding which will trode materials embodying my invention be a' good conductor of heat and electricity tend to give better control of the arc and and not subject to rapid oxidation due to to prevent what is commonly known as are the passage therethrough of an electric blowing. The exact theory which would 70 current. i explain this action of the electrode ma- Another object is to provide an. electrode terials is not thoroughly understood but I for arc welding capable of producing an believe that the equilibrium of the arc is not are having a lower temperature'than the arc disturbed as much where the rate of oxida-' produced by the ordinary carbon electrode. tion of the electrode material is slow as 75 Another object is to provide an electrode where this rate is relatively high. The 001m A for arc welding which will be durable and paratively low arc temperature also tends highly resistant to the action of the are. to prevent are blowing. and in this way to Another obf'ect is to provide an electrode, give better control of the arc.

. for an are we ding process'wherein the elec- These various advantages I obtain by the 80 trode does not enter the weld metal in any use of certain substances characterized by substantial amount, which is characterized having the various properties enumerated by being composed of material which is .a above, and exemplified by titanium, platigood conductor of-electricity andheat both num, iridium, osmium, and suitable alloys as compared with carbon. a of the same, as well as refractory oxides 85 Among the various methods'of welding and alkaline earths, exemplified respectivemetals in practise at the present time is the ly by zirconium oxide and calcium oxide.

process of carbon arc welding in which an However, I do not wish to be understood arc is drawn from the article to be welded as includin in the above examples all sub- 5 tom electrode composed of or containing stances whlch would be suitable for my carbon, thecarbon electrode forming the purpose since a broad definition of suitable negative terminal in the arc circuit. Such' substances has been made hereinabove. electrodes are subject to breakage in han- El t d b d i my i tion are idling with consequent wastage andare also i lly itabl f r u in arc welding burned u b the high temperature of the processes wherein the electrode does not arc and he lie t g ner in he electrOde enter the weld or seam metal in "substantial by Passage of C Trent therethl'ough- Fllramounts for forming a material part of such thermore due pr ably to the high boi ng kmetal, as exemplified in the present carbon pointer vol 'ng point of carbon, the arc welding process and in contrast with 4 temperature of the arc is considerably th w ll known metal electrode process in 100 higher when such electrodes are employed which the electrode is melted and forms a than is required, desirable or would exist rt orsubstantially all of the weld metal. if electrode materials having a lower boiling In practising my invention as a plied to i point Were'uSedan arc welding process, wherein t e mate- By my invention, 'however,I have been rial of the electrode does not enter the weld I able to overcome these and other disadmetal in substantial amounts, I provide as vantages of the resent electrodes by proone'terminal of an arc circuit an electrode vid'ing an electrode of a composition which, consisting of one or more of these elements so far as I am aware, has never been proalone or combined with each other or with posed heretofore for such purposes and other substances in "any suitable proportion, the work pieces to be welded forming the other terminal or pole and thus being of the same polarity. After the necessary connections have been made an arc isdrawn between the work pieces and the electrode, the are thus established serving to melt the 'metalof the articles to be welded which molten metal upon cooling forms a weld or seam in the manner familiar to those skilled in the art, the electrode embodying my invention remaining substantially unafi'ected throughout the operation.

It is obvious that electrodes embodying my invention are equally applicable to resistance welding processes especially spot welding, due primarily to the characteristics of the material constituting the electrodes. Accordingly, while I have described in some detail hereinabove the application of my invention to electric. arc welding processes, I do not" desire to be understood as limiting myself thereto since that is but one of various applications of my invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. An electrode for electric arc welding comprising a substance incapable of being substantially efiected by the temperature of an electric arc and characterized by having a boiling point relatively low as compared with the boiling or volatilizing pointsof carbon.

2. An electrode for electric arc welding comprising a substance substantially incapable of being efl'ected by the temperature of the arc and characterized by having a relatively high heat conductivity and low .boiling' point, both as compared with the conductivity and with the melting or volatilizing points of carbon.-

3. An electrode for electric arc Welding comprising a substance. substantially incapable of being eifected in the electric arc and characterized by ofl'ering substantially the same resistance to the passage there- -through of an electric current as the metal parts being joined by the arc, whereby the temperature of the electrode is substantially the same as that of the parts-to be joined.

4. An electrode for electric welding composed chiefly of one or more of the-metals titanium, platinum, and osmium. I In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

GIILBERT E. noa g 

